


Everything and Nothing

by trysomecats



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Husbands, M/M, Post-Kings Rising, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 01:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16822480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trysomecats/pseuds/trysomecats
Summary: “I know you’re not being poisoned,” Damen said. “I know. But I still can’t stand it- I can’t bear the thought of you becoming sick, and never waking up…”When Laurent gets sick, Damen is reminded of the many months he had to watch his father suffer.





	Everything and Nothing

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired from a headcanon I originally wrote on Tumblr: Whenever Laurent gets sick, Damen becomes overridden with panic, even if it’s something as mild as a cold. It’s because he spent months watching his father suffer from illness (since he didn’t know it was poison until after he died) and that really left a traumatic impact as a result. So, a bedridden Laurent always has to reassure his husband that it’s going to take a lot more than an upset stomach or a runny nose to be his demise.

It wasn’t anything to worry about. Laurent might have felt rather terrible, but in comparison to other trials the young king had faced throughout his life, a fever and an upset stomach were hardly bothersome. Yes, he would be on bedrest for the next few days or so, but he was still well enough to read and get plenty of work completed in the process of recovering.

From the way Damen was acting, however, one would think that Laurent was only moments away from death. When the Veretian king awoke in the middle of the night and expelled his dinner over the side of the bed, Damen acted as though Marlas was under attack. 

Now it was late morning, and Laurent was resting easily enough in bed. He hadn’t thrown up in several hours, and although the fever still persisted, it wasn’t severe enough to worry over too much. Paschal recommended that Laurent stay quiet for the next couple of days, and drink plenty of water to avoid becoming dehydrated. The illness would pass, so long as he didn’t overexert himself. 

Still, the Akielon king did not seem appeased. Setting his kingly duties aside for the day, he paced around their chambers with his hands wrung tightly together, until finally Laurent asked for his husband to join him on the bed. Damen did so, but there was something deep and unsettling in his eyes as he gathered Laurent into his arms and tenderly held his hand. They sat with Laurent’s back against Damen’s chest, and although Laurent could not see his face, he knew the other king was still very tense.

It was quite unnerving to see his husband behave so out of character. Damen wasn’t one to overreact. He was honest and clear headed; therefore, his behavior regarding Laurent’s minor illness made no sense. Laurent decided that he needed to do _something_ , and so he brought Damen’s knuckles to his lips and spoke quietly.

“Damen, this is nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” Damen insisted, looking down at their entwined hands. “You have a fever, Laurent.”

“A small fever,” Laurent agreed. “But it’s hardly anything to worry about. This isn’t the first time I’ve been sick, and it certainly won’t be the last.”

Laurent then closed his eyes, trying to focus on making his headache go away. He felt chilled in spite of his supposed fever, and so he settled back against his warm and hulking husband. Damen’s arms wound tighter around him in response, and they settled into silence. Although he was quite tired, Laurent knew that he would get no rest until he could get to the bottom of Damen’s strange behavior.

“My father had many fevers,” Damen said suddenly. “First they were only mild. But eventually, his fever was so high that he became delirious. He could hold no liquids down, and his body began to jerk and spasm. He fell unconscious for a day or so, and then never woke up…”

Damen stopped speaking and looked down at his husband. Laurent had turned in his arms and was staring back at him, with eyes that were wide and filled with sudden understanding.

“Damen…” Laurent reached up to touch his lover’s face.

“I know you’re not being poisoned,” Damen said. “I _know_. But I still can’t stand it- I can’t bear the thought of you becoming sick, and never waking up…”

“Listen to me Damen,” Laurent forced himself to sit up further, fighting back the dizziness that came with movement. “That’s not going to happen. Unfortunately I’ll be incapacitated for a couple of days, but it’s nothing some sleep won’t cure. We’ve both faced a lot worse in this world than a simple illness.”

“Yes, but-” Damen began, but then sighed, trying to figure out how to explain. He gently moved to push Laurent back into the mattress and kissed the golden beauty’s pink lips. “I can’t protect you from an illness.”

Laurent raised one of his perfect eyebrows. “No, you can’t, but you can protect yourself. The more you kiss me, the higher chance you have of getting sick too.”

Damen frowned, because there was no chance he would allow an illness to dictate when he should or shouldn’t kiss his husband. To reinforce this process of thinking, he leaned down and kissed Laurent again, deeper this time.

When they broke apart, Laurent was smiling up at him, his cheeks flushed from more than just the fever. “Very well, I understand that my warning means nothing to you. Don’t come crying to me if you get si-”

He broke off at the sudden lurch in his stomach.

“Laurent?” Damen had felt him tense.

“Bowl,” Laurent commanded, knowing very well what was about to happen. Damen scrambled to get the porcelain bowl from the bedside table. Laurent grabbed it from his hands and violently retched into it. At this point in time, there wasn’t much that was able to come up besides water.

Laurent had to give Damen some credit. The Akielon immediately held Laurent’s hair back to keep it safe from being dirtied, and not once did he flinch or make a comment about the rancid smell of stomach acid.

“Are you alright?” He asked anxiously when Laurent and his stomach were finished with their battle. He took the bowl from Laurent and helped him lay back down.

“I’m fine,” Laurent answered, though his nose wrinkled at the unpleasant taste in his mouth.

Vomiting was never a pleasant experience, but having Damen around made it more bearable. For a moment his mind flashed back to his adolescence, to the many times he had vomited when he was alone in his room, after his uncle had-

He shook the memory from his mind, curling closer to Damen, who still looked worried.

“Can I have some water?” He asked.

“Of course,” Damen moved to pour him some water from the nearby pitcher. “I’ll call for a servant to clean the bowl...and for the physician as well.”

Laurent sighed in good nature once he had taken a small sip of his drink. “Honestly lover, you insult me. It’s going to take a lot more than a minor illness to be my demise.”

“I know,” Damen said quietly as he took the cup back from Laurent. It became clear that no amount of joking would help the situation. Laurent took a deep breathe, fighting off another wave of dizziness, and touched Damen’s arm.

“What can I do to put your mind at ease?”

“Just let me hold you,” Damen answered after a moment of contemplation. “And allow me to call Paschal one more time to make sure your fever isn’t increasing.”

“Very well,” Laurent relented, and suddenly he felt very worn out from their conversation. He could do without another visit from the physician, but being held by Damen while he slept sounded quite appealing.

“I love you Damen,” Laurent said a while later, after Paschal had came and delivered him tea with herbs to settle his stomach. Now he was finding it hard to fight back against the heavy weight of sleep, and so he closed his tired eyelids. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Do you trust me?”

Warm lips brushed against his forehead.

“I do,” Damen said.

“Good,” Laurent mumbled, more asleep than awake. He would be better soon, and they would talk more about this. Damen helped Laurent with his demons, and so it was only natural that Laurent would return the favor.

For now Laurent drifted off, warm and safe in the arms of the man who was his _everything_.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is much appreciated!


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